Methods for rapid identification and quantitation of nucleic acid variants

ABSTRACT

There is a need for nucleic acid analysis which is both specific and rapid, and in which no nucleic acid sequencing is required. The present invention addresses this need, among others by providing a method of nucleic acid amplification of overlapping sub-segments of a nucleic acid followed by molecular mass measurement of resulting amplification products by mass spectrometry, and determination of the base compositions of the amplification products.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/701,404, filed Jul. 21, 2005; toU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/771,101, filed Feb. 6, 2006;and to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/747,607 filed May 18,2006. Each of the above listed U.S. Provisional Applications isincorporated herein by reference in entirety. Methods disclosed in U.S.application Ser. Nos. 10/156,608, 09/891,793, 10/418,514, 10/660,997,10/660,122, 10,660,996, 10/660,998, 10/728,486, 10/405,756, 10/853,660,11/060,135, 11/073,362 and 11/209,439, are commonly owned andincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for any purpose.

SEQUENCE LISTING

A paper copy of the sequence listing and a computer-readable form of thesequence listing, on diskette, containing the file namedDIBIS0075USSEQ.txt, which was created on Jul. 21, 2006, are hereinincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of nucleic acidanalysis and provides methods, compositions and kits useful for thispurpose when combined with mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Characterization of nucleic acid variants is a problem of greatimportance in various fields of molecular biology such as, for example,genotyping and identification of strains of bacteria and viruses whichare subject to evolutionary pressures via mechanisms including mutation,natural selection, genetic drift and recombination. Nucleic acidheterogeneity is a common feature of RNA viruses, for example.Populations of RNA viruses often exhibit high levels of heterogeneitydue to mutations which enhance the ability of the viruses to adapt togrowth conditions. Mixed populations of RNA virus quasispecies are knownto exist in viral vaccines. It would be advantageous to have a methodfor monitoring the heterogeneity of viral vaccines. Likewise, newstrains of bacterial species are also known to evolve rapidly.

Characterization and quantitiation of newly-evolving bacteria andviruses such as the SARS coronavirus, for example, is typically thefirst step in containment of an epidemic or infectious disease outbreak.In addition to characterization of naturally occurring variants ofbacteria and viruses, there is a need for characterization ofgenetically engineered bacterial or viral bio-weapons in forensic orbio-warfare investigations. Unfortunately, the process of sequencingentire bacterial or viral genomes or vaccine vector sequences is timeconsuming and is not effective at resolving mixtures of nucleic acidvariants.

Mitochondrial DNA is found in eukaryotes and differs from nuclear DNA inits location, its sequence, its quantity in the cell, and its mode ofinheritance. The nucleus of the human cell contains two sets of 23chromosomes, one paternal set and one maternal set. However, cells maycontain hundreds to thousands of mitochondria, each of which may containseveral copies of mitochondrial DNA. Nuclear DNA has many more basesthan mitochondrial DNA, but mitochondrial DNA is present in many morecopies than nuclear DNA. This characteristic of mitochondrial DNA isuseful in situations where the amount of DNA in a sample is verylimited. Typical sources of DNA recovered from crime scenes includehair, bones, teeth, and body fluids such as saliva, semen, and blood.

In humans, mitochondrial DNA is inherited strictly from the mother (CaseJ. T. and Wallace, D. C., Somatic Cell Genetics, 1981, 7, 103-108;Giles, R. E. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 1980, 77, 6715-6719;Hutchison, C. A. et al. Nature, 1974, 251, 536-538). Thus, themitochondrial DNA sequences obtained from maternally relatedindividuals, such as a brother and a sister or a mother and a daughter,will exactly match each other in the absence of a mutation. Thischaracteristic of mitochondrial DNA is advantageous in missing personscases as reference mitochondrial DNA samples can be supplied by anymaternal relative of the missing individual (Ginther, C. et al. NatureGenetics, 1992, 2, 135-138; Holland, M. M. et al. Journal of ForensicSciences, 1993, 38, 542-553; Stoneking, M. et al. American Journal ofHuman Genetics, 1991, 48, 370-382).

The human mitochondrial DNA genome is approximately 16,569 bases inlength and has two general regions: the coding region and the controlregion. The coding region is responsible for the production of variousbiological molecules involved in the process of energy production in thecell and includes about 37 genes (22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs,and 13 peptides), with very little intergenic sequence and no introns.The control region is responsible for regulation of the mitochondrialDNA molecule. Two regions of mitochondrial DNA within the control regionhave been found to be highly polymorphic, or variable, within the humanpopulation (Greenberg, B. D. et al. Gene, 1983, 21, 33-49). These tworegions are termed “hypervariable Region I” (HV1), which has anapproximate length of 342 base pairs (bp), and “hypervariable Region II”(HV2), which has an approximate length of 268 bp. Forensic mitochondrialDNA examinations are performed using these two hypervariable regionsbecause of the high degree of variability found among individuals.

There exists a need for rapid identification of humans wherein humanremains and/or biological samples are analyzed. Such remains or samplesmay be associated with war-related casualties, aircraft crashes, andacts of terrorism, for example. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA enables arule-in/rule-out identification process for persons for whom DNAprofiles from a maternal relative are available. Human identification byanalysis of mitochondrial DNA can also be applied to human remainsand/or biological samples obtained from crime scenes.

The process of human identification is a common objective of forensicsinvestigations. As used herein, “forensics” is the study of evidencediscovered at a crime or accident scene and used in a court of law.“Forensic science” is any science used for the purposes of the law, inparticular the criminal justice system, and therefore provides impartialscientific evidence for use in the courts of law, and in a criminalinvestigation and trial. Forensic science is a multidisciplinarysubject, drawing principally from chemistry and biology, but also fromphysics, geology, psychology and social science, for example.

Forensic scientists generally use the two hypervariable regions of humanmitochondrial DNA for analysis. These hypervariable regions, or portionsthereof, provide only one non-limiting example of a region ofmitochondrial DNA useful for identification analysis.

A typical mitochondrial DNA analysis begins when total genomic andmitochondrial DNA is extracted from biological material, such as atooth, blood sample, or hair. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) isthen used to amplify, or create many copies of, the two hypervariableportions of the non-coding region of the mitochondrial DNA molecule,using flanking primers. When adequate amounts of PCR product areamplified to provide all the necessary information about the twohypervariable regions, sequencing reactions are performed. Wherepossible, the sequences of both hypervariable regions are determined onboth strands of the double-stranded DNA molecule, with sufficientredundancy to confirm the nucleotide substitutions that characterizethat particular sample. The entire process is then repeated with a knownsample, such as blood or saliva collected from a known individual. Thesequences from both samples are compared to determine if they match.Finally, in the event of an inclusion or match, The Scientific WorkingGroup on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) mitochondrial DNA database, whichis maintained by the FBI, is searched for the mitochondrial sequencethat has been observed for the samples. The analysts can then report thenumber of observations of this type based on the nucleotide positionsthat have been read. A written report can be provided to the submittingagency. This process is described in more detail in M. M. Holland and T.J. Parsons 1999, Forensic Science Review, volume 11, pages 25-51.

Approximately 610 bp of mitochondrial DNA are currently sequenced inforensic mitochondrial DNA analysis. Recording and comparingmitochondrial DNA sequences would be difficult and potentially confusingif all of the bases were listed. Thus, mitochondrial DNA sequenceinformation is recorded by listing only the differences with respect toa reference DNA sequence. By convention, human mitochondrial DNAsequences are described using the first complete published mitochondrialDNA sequence as a reference (Anderson, S. et al., Nature, 1981, 290,457-465). This sequence is commonly referred to as the Andersonsequence. It is also called the Cambridge reference sequence or theOxford sequence. Each base pair in this sequence is assigned a number.Deviations from this reference sequence are recorded as the number ofthe position demonstrating a difference and a letter designation of thedifferent base. For example, a transition from A to G at position 263would be recorded as 263 G. If deletions or insertions of bases arepresent in the mitochondrial DNA, these differences are denoted as well.

In the United States, there are seven laboratories currently conductingforensic mitochondrial DNA examinations: the FBI Laboratory; LaboratoryCorporation of America (LabCorp) in Research Triangle Park, N.C.;Mitotyping Technologies in State College, Pennsylvania; the BodeTechnology Group (BTG) in Springfield, Va.; the Armed Forces DNAIdentification Laboratory (AFDIL) in Rockville, Md.; BioSynthesis, Inc.in Lewisville, Tex.; and Reliagene in New Orleans, La.

Mitochondrial DNA analyses have been admitted in criminal proceedingsfrom these laboratories in the following states as of April 1999:Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, NewMexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,and Washington. Mitochondrial DNA has also been admitted and used incriminal trials in Australia, the United Kingdom, and several otherEuropean countries.

Since 1996, the number of individuals performing mitochondrial DNAanalysis at the FBI Laboratory has grown from 4 to 12, with morepersonnel expected in the near future. Over 150 mitochondrial DNA caseshave been completed by the FBI Laboratory as of March 1999, and dozensmore await analysis. Forensic courses are being taught by the FBILaboratory personnel and other groups to educate forensic scientists inthe procedures and interpretation of mitochondrial DNA sequencing. Moreand more individuals are learning about the value of mitochondrial DNAsequencing for obtaining useful information from evidentiary samplesthat are small, degraded, or both. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing isbecoming known not only as an exclusionary tool but also as acomplementary technique for use with other human identificationprocedures. Mitochondrial DNA analysis will continue to be a powerfultool for law enforcement officials in the years to come as otherapplications are developed, validated, and applied to forensic evidence.

Presently, the forensic analysis of mitochondrial DNA is rigorous andlabor-intensive. Currently, only 1-2 cases per month per analyst can beperformed. Several molecular biological techniques are combined toobtain a mitochondrial DNA sequence from a sample. The steps of themitochondrial DNA analysis process include primary visual analysis,sample preparation, DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)amplification, post-amplification quantification of the DNA, automatedDNA sequencing, and data analysis. Another complicating factor in theforensic analysis of mitochondrial DNA is the occurrence of heteroplasmywherein the pool of mitochondrial DNAs in a given cell is heterogeneousdue to mutations in individual mitochondrial DNAs. There are differentforms of heteroplasmy found in mitochondrial DNA. For example, sequenceheteroplasmy (also known as point heteroplasmy) is the occurrence ofmore than one base at a particular position or positions in themitochondrial DNA sequence. Length heteroplasmy is the occurrence ofmore than one length of a stretch of the same base in a mitochondrialDNA sequence as a result of insertion of nucleotide residues.

Heteroplasmy is a problem for forensic investigators since a sample froma crime scene can differ from a sample from a suspect by one base pairand this difference may be interpreted as sufficient evidence toeliminate that individual as the suspect. Hair samples from a singleindividual can contain heteroplasmic mutations at vastly differentconcentrations and even the root and shaft of a single hair can differ.The detection methods currently available to molecular biologists cannotdetect low levels of heteroplasmy. Furthermore, if present, lengthheteroplasmy will adversely affect sequencing runs by resulting in anout-of-frame sequence that cannot be interpreted.

Mass spectrometry provides detailed information about the moleculesbeing analyzed, including high mass accuracy. It is also a process thatcan be easily automated.

There is a need for a mitochondrial DNA forensic analysis which is bothspecific and rapid, and in which no nucleic acid sequencing is required.There is also a need for a method of rapid characterization andquantitation of nucleic acids which have variant positions relative to areference sequence. These needs, as well as others, are addressed hereinbelow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Described herein are compositions and methods for analyzing a nucleicacid by performing the steps of obtaining a sample of nucleic acid forbase composition analysis; selecting at least two primer pairs that willgenerate overlapping amplification products of at least two sub-segmentsof the nucleic acid; amplifying at least two nucleic acid sequences of aregion of the nucleic acid designated as a target for base compositionanalysis using the primer pairs, thereby generating at least twooverlapping amplification products; obtaining base compositions of theamplification products by measuring molecular masses of one or more ofthe amplification products using a mass spectrometer; and converting oneor more of the measured molecular masses to base compositions; comparingone or more of the base compositions with one or more base compositionsof reference sub-segments of a reference sequence; and identifying thepresence of a particular nucleic acid sequence or variant thereof.

The nucleic acid analyzed is obtained from a human, bacterium, virus,fungus, synthetic nucleic acid source, recombinant nucleic acid source,or encodes a biological product such as a vaccine, antibody or otherbiological product.

Further described herein are compositions and methods for identifying ahuman by obtaining a sample comprising mitochondrial DNA of the humanfor base composition analysis; selecting at least two primer pairs thatwill generate overlapping amplification products representingoverlapping sub-segments of the mitochondrial DNA; amplifying at leasttwo nucleic acid sequences of a region of the mitochondrial DNAdesignated as a target for base composition analysis using the at leasttwo primer pairs, thereby generating at least two overlappingamplification products; obtaining base compositions of the amplificationproducts by measuring molecular masses of one or more of theamplification products generated using a mass spectrometer andconverting one or more of the measured molecular masses to basecompositions; and comparing one or more of the base compositions withone or more base compositions of reference sub-segments of a referencesequence thereby identifying the human.

Also described herein are compositions and methods for characterizingheteroplasmy of mitochondrial DNA comprising the steps of obtaining asample comprising mitochondrial DNA for base composition analysis;selecting at least two primer pairs that will generate overlappingamplification products representing sub-segments of the mitochondrialDNA; amplifying at least two nucleic acid sequences of a region of themitochondrial DNA designated as a target for base composition analysisusing the at least two primer pairs, thereby generating at least twooverlapping amplification products; obtaining base compositions of theamplification products by measuring molecular masses of one or more ofthe amplification products using a mass spectrometer; and converting oneor more of the measured molecular masses to base compositions; comparingone or more of the base compositions with one or more base compositionsof reference sub-segments of a reference sequence; and identifying atleast two distinct amplification products with distinct basecompositions obtained by the same pair of primers, therebycharacterizing the heteroplasmy.

Also disclosed are primer pair compositions and kits comprising the samewhich are useful for obtaining amplification products used in genotypingorganisms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the definition of sub-segments of areference sequence for amplification. Arrows indicate the position ofprimer hybridization for obtaining an amplification productcorresponding to a sub-segment. For example, FWD-A indicates thehybridization position of the forward primer for obtaining anamplification product corresponding to Sub-segment A, while REV-Aindicates the hybridization position of the reverse primer for obtainingan amplification product corresponding to sub-segment A. Overlap of onesub-segment A, which has a length of 120 nucleobases (bp) withsub-segment B is shown on the left side.

FIG. 2 is mass spectrum of three amplification products of a sample ofmitochondrial DNA displaying six peaks corresponding to the individualstrands of each of the three amplification products, each correspondingto sub-segments of the target mitochondrial DNA. Peaks labeled A and Bare from a single amplification product of the HV1 region obtained withprimer pair number 2892 (SEQ ID NOs: 4:29). Peaks labeled C and D arefrom a single amplification product of the HV1 region obtained withprimer pair number 2901 (SEQ ID NOs: 12:37). Peaks labeled E and F arefrom a single amplification product of the HV2 region obtained withprimer pair number 2906 (SEQ ID NOs: 17:42).

FIG. 3 represents a refinement of peaks from a mass spectrum of a samplemitochondrial DNA displaying six peak lines corresponding to theindividual strands of each of the three amplification products.Detection of heteroplasmy in one of the amplified regions is indicated.Peaks labeled A and B are from a single amplification product of the HV1region obtained with primer pair number 2904 (SEQ ID NOs: 15:40). Peakslabeled C and D are from a single amplification product of the HV1region obtained with primer pair number 2896 (SEQ ID NO: 8:33). Peakslabeled C′ and D′ are from a single amplification product of the HV1region obtained with primer pair number 2896 which represents oneheteroplasmic variant of the amplification product represented by peaksC and D. Peaks labeled C″ and D″ are from a single amplification productof the HV1 region obtained with primer pair number 2896 which representsanother heteroplasmic variant of the amplification product representedby peaks C and D. Peaks labeled E and F are from a single amplificationproduct of the HV2 region obtained with primer pair number 2913 (SEQ IDNO: 22:47).

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the names and chromosome locations for theCODIS 13 markers, as well as for the AMEL markers on the X and Ychromosomes. The CODIS 13 short tandem repeats are commonly used by lawenforcement for determining the source identity for a given nucleicacid.

DEFINITIONS

A number of terms and phrases are defined below:

As described herein, nucleic acids are analyzed to generate a basecomposition profile. Nucleic acids include, but are not limited to,human mitochondrial DNA, human, chromosomal DNA, bacterial genomic DNA,fungal DNA, viral DNA, viral RNA, commercially available plasmids orvectors or vaccines. The nucleic acids are referred to as havingregions, which define as being a portion of the nucleic acid that areknown or suspected to comprise genetic sequence differences that allowfor the characterization of the nucleic acid. By use of the term“characterization” it is meant that the source of the nucleic acid canbe identified (e.g., genetic identification of a human, identificationof a recombination event in a plasmid, diagnosis of a human geneticdisposition towards a disease or trait, HN typing of influenza virusstrains). Part or all of a region may form the target for analysis usingthe disclosed material and methods. Alternatively, an entire nucleicacid can be analyzed, which is typically more useful when there are notdefined regions for characterization. Thus, the whole nucleic acid willbe referred to herein as region and a target. Within a target there aresub-segments. Sub-segments are the portions of nucleic acid that areflanked by primer to generate individual amplified products oramplicons. These sub-segments preferably overlap.

As used herein, “Mitochondrial DNA” refers to a circular ring of DNAwhich is separate from chromosomal DNA and contained as multiple copieswithin mitochondria. Mitochondrial DNA is often abbreviated as “mtDNA”and will be recognized as such by one with ordinary skill in the arts ofmitochondrial DNA analysis. In a preferred embodiment, the objective isto identify a human. Nucleic acid is obtained from a human cell, such asa blood cell, hair, cell, skin cell or any other human cell appropriatefor obtaining nucleic acid. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid ismitochondrial DNA. In some embodiments, certain portions ofmitochondrial DNA are appropriate for base composition analysis such as,for example, HV1 and HV2.

As used herein, the term “HV1” refers to a region within mitochondrialDNA known as “hypervariable region 1.” With respect to the referenceAnderson/Cambridge mitochondrial DNA sequence, the HV1 region isrepresented by coordinates 15924 . . . 16428. This region is useful foridentification of humans because it has a high degree of variabilityamong different human individuals. In some embodiments, a definedportion of the HV1 region is analyzed by base composition analysis of“sub-segments” of the defined portion. In this embodiment, the definedportion of HV1 represents the “target.” In preferred embodiments, theentire HV1 region (coordinates 15924 . . . 16428) is divided intooverlapping sub-segments. In this embodiment, the entire HV1 regionrepresents the “target.”

As used herein, the term “HV2” refers to a region within mitochondrialDNA known as “hypervariable region 2.” With respect to the referenceAnderson/Cambridge mitochondrial DNA sequence, the HV1 region isrepresented by coordinates 31 . . . 576. As for HV1, the HV2 region isuseful for identification of humans because it also has a high degree ofvariability among different human individuals. In some embodiments, adefined portion of the HV2 region is analyzed by base compositionanalysis of “sub-segments” of the defined portion. In this embodiment,the defined portion of HV2 represents the “target.” In preferredembodiments, the entire HV1 region (coordinates 31 . . . 576) is dividedinto overlapping sub-segments. In this embodiment, the entire HV2 regionrepresents the “target.”

In other embodiments, additional target regions within the mitochondrialDNA may be chosen for base composition analysis.

As used herein, the term “target” generally refers to a nucleic acidsequence to be detected or characterized. Thus, the “target” is soughtto be sorted out from other nucleic acid sequences.

As used herein, “sub-segments” are portions of a given target which areof useful size for base composition analysis. In some embodiments, thesizes of sub-segments range between about 45 to about 150 nucleobases inlength. In preferred embodiments, the “sub-segments” overlap with eachother and cover the entire target as shown in FIG. 1. Amplificationproducts representing the sub-segments are obtained by amplificationmethods, such as PCR that are well known to those with ordinary skill inmolecular biology techniques. The amplification products representingthe sub-segments are analyzed by mass spectrometry to determine theirmolecular masses and base compositions of the amplification products arecalculated from the molecular masses. The experimentally-determined basecompositions are then compared with base compositions of “referencesub-segments” of a “reference nucleic acid” whose sequence and/or basecomposition is known. In preferred embodiments a database containingbase compositions of reference nucleic acids and sub-segments thereof isused for comparison with the experimentally-determined basecompositions. A match of one or more experimentally-determined basecompositions of one or more sub-segments with one or more basecompositions of reference sub-segments will provide the identity of thehuman.

The same definitions of the terms “target,” “sub-segment,” “referencesub-segment” and “reference nucleic acid” are applicable to otherpreferred embodiments where base composition analysis is used toidentify a human by analysis of specific human chromosomal targetregions such as CODIS markers for example. FIG. 4 is an illustration ofthe names and chromosome locations for the CODIS 13 markers, as well asfor the AMEL markers on the X and Y chromosomes.

The same definitions of the terms “target,” “sub-segment,” “referencesub-segment” and “reference nucleic acid” are applicable to otherpreferred embodiments where base composition analysis is used toidentify or characterize a genotype of a microorganism such as abacterium, virus, or fungus for example. Characterization of genotypesof microorganisms is useful in infectious disease diagnostics forexample. In these embodiments, a given target may represent the entiregenome of a microorganism or a portion thereof. The target is analyzedby characterization of amplification products representing sub-segmentsof the target.

The same definitions of the terms “target,” “sub-segment,” “referencesub-segment” and “reference nucleic acid” are applicable to otherpreferred embodiments where base composition analysis is used tovalidate a “test nucleic acid” with respect to a reference nucleic acid.Validation of test nucleic acids is desirable in quality control ofpharmaceutical production such as in production of vectors carryinggenes encoding therapeutic proteins such as vaccines for example. Inthis embodiment, the “test nucleic acid” is expected to be identical insequence and base composition to the reference nucleic acid. Comparisonof experimentally determined base compositions of amplification productsrepresenting sub-segments of the target with base compositions ofreference sub-segments may either indicate that the base compositionsare identical, thereby validating the test nucleic acid, or identify avariant of the reference nucleic acid.

“Amplification” is a special case of nucleic acid replication involvingtemplate specificity. It is to be contrasted with non-specific templatereplication (i.e., replication that is template-dependent but notdependent on a specific template). Template specificity is heredistinguished from fidelity of replication (i.e., synthesis of theproper polynucleotide sequence) and nucleotide (ribo- or deoxyribo-)specificity. Template specificity is frequently described in terms of“target” specificity.

Template or target specificity is achieved in-most amplificationtechniques by the choice of enzyme. Amplification enzymes are enzymesthat, under conditions they are used, will process only specificsequences of nucleic acid in a heterogeneous mixture of nucleic acid.For example, in the case of Qβ replicase, MDV-1 RNA is the specifictemplate for the replicase (D. L. Kacian et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 69:3038 [1972]). Other nucleic acid will not be replicated by thisamplification enzyme. Similarly, in the case of T7 RNA polymerase, thisamplification enzyme has a stringent specificity for its own promoters(Chamberlin et al., Nature 228:227 [1970]). In the case of T4 DNAligase, the enzyme will not ligate the two oligonucleotides orpolynucleotides, where there is a mismatch between the oligonucleotideor polynucleotide substrate and the template at the ligation junction(D. Y. Wu and R. B. Wallace, Genomics 4:560 [1989]). Finally, Taq andPfu polymerases, by virtue of their ability to function at hightemperature, are found to display high specificity for the sequencesbounded and thus defined by the primers; the high temperature results inthermodynamic conditions that favor primer hybridization with the targetsequences and not hybridization with non-target sequences (H. A. Erlich(ed.), PCR Technology, Stockton Press [1989]).

As used herein, the term “sample template” refers to nucleic acidoriginating from a sample that is analyzed for the presence of “target”(defined below). In contrast, “background template” is used in referenceto nucleic acid other than sample template that may or may not bepresent in a sample. Background template is most often inadvertent. Itmay be the result of carryover, or it may be due to the presence ofnucleic acid contaminants sought to be purified away from the sample.For example, nucleic acids from organisms other than those to bedetected may be present as background in a test sample.

As used herein, the term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide, whetheroccurring naturally, such as a purified fragment from a restrictiondigest, or produced synthetically, which is capable of acting as a pointof initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions in whichsynthesis of a primer extension product which is complementary to anucleic acid strand is induced, (i.e., in the presence of nucleotidesand an inducing agent such as DNA polymerase and at a suitabletemperature and pH). The primer is preferably single stranded formaximum efficiency in amplification, but may alternatively be doublestranded. If double stranded, the primer is first treated to separateits strands before being used to prepare extension products. Preferably,the primer is an oligodeoxyribonucleotide. Preferably, the primer issufficiently long to prime the synthesis of extension products in thepresence of the inducing agent. The exact lengths of the primers willdepend on many factors, including temperature, source of primer and theuse of the method. The primers can be any useful length. Lengths ofabout 13 to about 35 nucleobases are preferred. One with ordinary skillin the art of molecular biology can design primers appropriate foramplification methods.

As used herein, a “pair of primers” or “a primer pair” is used foramplification of a nucleic acid sequence. A pair of primers comprises aforward primer and a reverse primer. The forward primer hybridizes to asense strand of a target gene sequence to be amplified and primessynthesis of an antisense strand (complementary to the sense strand)using the target sequence as a template. A reverse primer hybridizes tothe antisense strand of a target gene sequence to be amplified andprimes synthesis of a sense strand (complementary to the antisensestrand) using the target sequence as a template.

As used herein, the term “polymerase chain reaction” (“PCR”) refers tothe method of K. B. Mullis U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195, 4,683,202, and4,965,188, hereby incorporated by reference, that describe a method forincreasing the concentration of a segment of a target sequence in amixture of genomic DNA without cloning or purification. This process foramplifying the target sequence consists of introducing a large excess oftwo oligonucleotide primers to the DNA mixture containing the desiredtarget sequence, followed by a precise sequence of thermal cycling inthe presence of a DNA polymerase. The two primers are complementary totheir respective strands of the double stranded target sequence. Toeffect amplification, the mixture is denatured and the primers thenannealed to their complementary sequences within the target molecule.Following annealing, the primers are extended with a polymerase so as toform a new pair of complementary strands. The steps of denaturation,primer annealing, and polymerase extension can be repeated many times(i.e., denaturation, annealing and extension constitute one “cycle”;there can be numerous “cycles”) to obtain a high concentration of anamplified segment of the desired target sequence. The length of theamplified segment of the desired target sequence is determined by therelative positions of the primers with respect to each other, andtherefore, this length is a controllable parameter. By virtue of therepeating aspect of the process, the method is referred to as the“polymerase chain reaction” (hereinafter “PCR”).Because the desiredamplified segments of the target sequence become the predominantsequences (in terms of concentration) in the mixture, they are said tobe “PCR amplified.”

With PCR, it is possible to amplify a single copy of a specific targetsequence in genomic DNA to a level detectable by several differentmethodologies (e.g., hybridization with a labeled probe; incorporationof biotinylated primers followed by avidin-enzyme conjugate detection;incorporation of ³²P-labeled deoxynucleotide triphosphates, such as dCTPor dATP, into the amplified segment). In addition to genomic DNA, anyoligonucleotide or polynucleotide sequence can be amplified with theappropriate set of primer molecules. In particular, the amplifiedsegments created by the PCR process itself are, themselves, efficienttemplates for subsequent PCR amplifications.

As used herein, the terms “PCR product,” “PCR fragment,” and“amplification product” refer to the nucleic acid product obtained aftertwo or more cycles of the PCR steps of denaturation, annealing andextension are complete. These terms encompass the case where there hasbeen amplification of one or more segments of one or more targetsequences.

As used herein, the term “amplification reagents” refers to thosereagents (deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates, buffer, etc.), needed foramplification except for primers, nucleic acid template, and theamplification enzyme. Typically, amplification reagents along with otherreaction components are placed and contained in a reaction vessel (testtube, microwell, etc.).

As used herein, the terms “complementary” or “complementarity” are usedin reference to polynucleotides (i.e., a sequence of nucleotides such asan oligonucleotide or a target nucleic acid) related by the base-pairingrules. For example, for the sequence “5′-A-G-T-3′,” is complementary tothe sequence “3′-T-C-A-5′.” Complementarity may be “partial,” in whichonly some of the nucleic acids' bases are matched according to the basepairing rules. Or, there may be “complete” or “total” complementaritybetween the nucleic acids. The degree of complementarity between nucleicacid strands has significant effects on the efficiency and strength ofhybridization between nucleic acid strands. This is of particularimportance in amplification reactions, as well as detection methodswhich depend upon binding between nucleic acids. Either term may also beused in reference to individual nucleotides, especially within thecontext of polynucleotides. For example, a particular nucleotide withinan oligonucleotide may be noted for its complementarity, or lackthereof, to a nucleotide within another nucleic acid strand, in contrastor comparison to the complementarity between the rest of theoligonucleotide and the nucleic acid strand.

The terms “homology,” “homologous” and “sequence identity” refer to adegree of identity. There may be partial homology or complete homology.A partially homologous sequence is one that is less than 100% identicalto another sequence. Determination of sequence identity is described inthe following example: a primer 20 nucleobases in length which isotherwise identical to another 20 nucleobase primer but having twonon-identical residues has 18 of 20 identical residues (18/20=0.9 or 90%sequence identity). In another example, a primer 15 nucleobases inlength having all residues identical to a 15 nucleobase segment ofprimer 20 nucleobases in length would have 15/20=0.75 or 75% sequenceidentity with the 20 nucleobase primer. In context of the presentinvention, sequence identity is meant to be properly determined when thequery sequence and the subject sequence are both described in the 5′ to3′ direction.

As used herein, the term “hybridization” is used in reference to thepairing of complementary nucleic acids. Hybridization and the strengthof hybridization (i.e., the strength of the association between thenucleic acids) is influenced by such factors as the degree ofcomplementary between the nucleic acids, stringency of the conditionsinvolved, and the T_(m) of the formed hybrid. “Hybridization” methodsinvolve the annealing of one nucleic acid to another, complementarynucleic acid, i.e., a nucleic acid having a complementary nucleotidesequence. The ability of two polymers of nucleic acid containingcomplementary sequences to find each other and anneal through basepairing interaction is a well-recognized phenomenon. The initialobservations of the “hybridization” process by Marmur and Lane, Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 46:453 (1960) and Doty et al., Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA 46:461 (1960) have been followed by the refinement of thisprocess into an essential tool of modem biology.

The complement of a nucleic acid sequence as used herein refers to anoligonucleotide which, when aligned with the nucleic acid sequence suchthat the 5′ end of one sequence is paired with the 3′ end of the other,is in “antiparallel association.” Certain bases not commonly found innatural nucleic acids may be included in the nucleic acids of thepresent invention and include, for example, inosine and 7-deazaguanine.Complementarity need not be perfect; stable duplexes may containmismatched base pairs or unmatched bases. Those skilled in the art ofnucleic acid technology can determine duplex stability empiricallyconsidering a number of variables including, for example, the length ofthe oligonucleotide, base composition and sequence of theoligonucleotide, ionic strength and incidence of mismatched base pairs.

As used herein, the term “T_(m)” is used in reference to the “meltingtemperature.” The melting temperature is the temperature at which apopulation of double-stranded nucleic acid molecules becomes halfdissociated into single strands. Several equations for calculating theT_(m) of nucleic acids are well known in the art. As indicated bystandard references, a simple estimate of the T_(m) value may becalculated by the equation: T_(m)=81.5+0.41 (% G+C), when a nucleic acidis in aqueous solution at 1 M NaCl (see e.g., Anderson and Young,Quantitative Filter Hybridization, in Nucleic Acid Hybridization (1985).Other references (e.g., Allawi, H. T. & SantaLucia, J., Jr.Thermodynamics and NMR of internal G.T mismatches in DNA. Biochemistry36, 10581-94 (1997) include more sophisticated computations which takestructural and environmental, as well as sequence characteristics intoaccount for the calculation of T_(m).

The term “gene” refers to a DNA sequence that comprises control andcoding sequences necessary for the production of an RNA having anon-coding function (e.g., a ribosomal or transfer RNA), a polypeptideor a precursor. The RNA or polypeptide can be encoded by a full lengthcoding sequence or by any portion of the coding sequence so long as thedesired activity or function is retained.

The term “wild-type” refers to a gene or a gene product that has thecharacteristics of that gene or gene product when isolated from anaturally occurring source. A wild-type gene is that which is mostfrequently observed in a population and is thus arbitrarily designatedthe “normal” or “wild-type” form of the gene. In contrast, the term“modified”, “mutant” or “polymorphic” refers to a gene or gene productwhich displays modifications in sequence and or functional properties(i.e., altered characteristics) when compared to the wild-type gene orgene product. It is noted that naturally-occurring mutants can beisolated; these are identified by the fact that they have alteredcharacteristics when compared to the wild-type gene or gene product.

The term “oligonucleotide” as used herein is defined as a moleculecomprising two or more deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides,preferably at least 5 nucleotides, more preferably at least about 13 to35 nucleotides. The exact size will depend on many factors, which inturn depend on the ultimate function or use of the oligonucleotide. Theoligonucleotide may be generated in any manner, including chemicalsynthesis, DNA replication, reverse transcription, PCR, or a combinationthereof.

Because mononucleotides are reacted to make oligonucleotides in a mannersuch that the 5′ phosphate of one mononucleotide pentose ring isattached to the 3′ oxygen of its neighbor in one direction via aphosphodiester linkage, an end of an oligonucleotide is referred to asthe “5′-end” if its 5′ phosphate is not linked to the 3′ oxygen of amononucleotide pentose ring and as the “3′-end” if its 3′ oxygen is notlinked to a 5′ phosphate of a subsequent mononucleotide pentose ring. Asused herein, a nucleic acid sequence, even if internal to a largeroligonucleotide, also may be said to have 5′ and 3′ ends. A first regionalong a nucleic acid strand is said to be upstream of another region ifthe 3′ end of the first region is before the 5′ end of the second regionwhen moving along a strand of nucleic acid in a 5′ to 3′ direction. Alloligonucleotide primers disclosed herein are understood to be presentedin the 5′ to 3′ direction when reading left to right.

When two different, non-overlapping oligonucleotides anneal to differentregions of the same linear complementary nucleic acid sequence, and the3′ end of one oligonucleotide points towards the 5′ end of the other,the former may be called the “upstream” oligonucleotide and the latterthe “downstream” oligonucleotide. Similarly, when two overlappingoligonucleotides are hybridized to the same linear complementary nucleicacid sequence, with the first oligonucleotide positioned such that its5′ end is upstream of the 5′ end of the second oligonucleotide, and the3′ end of the first oligonucleotide is upstream of the 3′ end of thesecond oligonucleotide, the first oligonucleotide may be called the“upstream” oligonucleotide and the second oligonucleotide may be calledthe “downstream” oligonucleotide.

The term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide that is capable of actingas a point of initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions inwhich primer extension is initiated. An oligonucleotide “primer” mayoccur naturally, as in a purified restriction digest or may be producedsynthetically. A primer is selected to be “substantially” complementaryto a strand of specific sequence of the template. A primer must besufficiently complementary to hybridize with a template strand forprimer elongation to occur. A primer sequence need not reflect the exactsequence of the template. For example, a non-complementary nucleotidefragment may be attached to the 5′ end of the primer, with the remainderof the primer sequence being substantially complementary to the strand.Non-complementary bases or longer sequences can be interspersed into theprimer, provided that the primer sequence has sufficient complementaritywith the sequence of the template to hybridize and thereby form atemplate primer complex for synthesis of the extension product of theprimer.

The term “target nucleic acid” refers to a nucleic acid moleculecontaining a sequence that has at least partial complementarity with anoligonucleotide primer. The target nucleic acid may comprise single- ordouble-stranded DNA or RNA.

The term “variable sequence” as used herein refers to differences innucleic acid sequence between two nucleic acids. For example, the samegene of two different bacterial species may vary in sequence by thepresence of single base substitutions and/or deletions or insertions ofone or more nucleotides. These two forms of the structural gene are saidto vary in sequence from one another.

The term “nucleotide analog” as used herein refers to modified ornon-naturally occurring nucleotides such as 5-propynyl pyrimidines(i.e., 5-propynyl-dTTP and 5-propynyl-dTCP), 7-deaza purines (i.e.,7-deaza-dATP and 7-deaza-dGTP). Nucleotide analogs include base analogsand comprise modified forms of deoxyribonucleotides as well asribonucleotides.

The term “microorganism” as used herein means an organism too small tobe observed with the unaided eye and includes, but is not limited tobacteria, virus, protozoans, fungi; and ciliates.

The term “microbial gene sequences” refers to gene sequences derivedfrom a microorganism.

The term “bacteria” or “bacterium” refers to any member of the groups ofeubacteria and archaebacteria.

The term “virus” refers to obligate, ultramicroscopic, intracellularparasites incapable of autonomous replication (i.e., replicationrequires the use of the host cell's machinery).

The term “sample” in the present specification and claims is used in itsbroadest sense. On the one hand it is meant to include a specimen orculture (e.g., microbiological cultures). On the other hand, it is meantto include both biological and environmental samples. A sample mayinclude a specimen of synthetic origin.

Biological samples may be animal, including human, fluid, solid (e.g.,stool) or tissue, as well as liquid and solid food and feed products andingredients such as dairy items, vegetables, meat and meat by-products,and waste. Biological samples may be obtained from all of the variousfamilies of domestic animals, as well as feral or wild animals,including, but not limited to, such animals as ungulates, bear, fish,lagamorphs, rodents, etc.

Environmental samples include environmental material such as surfacematter, soil, water and industrial samples, as well as samples obtainedfrom food and dairy processing instruments, apparatus, equipment,utensils, disposable and non-disposable items. These examples are not tobe construed as limiting the sample types applicable to the presentinvention.

The term “source of target nucleic acid” refers to any sample thatcontains nucleic acids (RNA or DNA). Particularly preferred sources oftarget nucleic acids are biological samples including, but not limitedto blood, saliva, cerebral spinal fluid, pleural fluid, milk, lymph,sputum and semen. The source of nucleic acid may also be an organismsuch as a human, animal, bacterium, virus or fungus for example.

The term “polymerization means” or “polymerization agent” refers to anyagent capable of facilitating the addition of nucleoside triphosphatesto an oligonucleotide. Preferred polymerization means comprise DNA andRNA polymerases.

The term “adduct” is used herein in its broadest sense to indicate anycompound or element that can be added to an oligonucleotide. An adductmay be charged (positively or negatively) or may be charge-neutral. Anadduct may be added to the oligonucleotide via covalent or non-covalentlinkages. Examples of adducts include, but are not limited to,indodicarbocyanine dye amidites, amino-substituted nucleotides, ethidiumbromide, ethidium homodimer, (1,3-propanediamino)propidium,(diethylenetriamino)propidium, thiazole orange,(N-N′-tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamino)propyl thiazole orange,(N-N′-tetramethyl-1,2-ethanediamino)propyl thiazole orange, thiazoleorange-thiazole orange homodimer (TOTO), thiazole orange-thiazole blueheterodimer (TOTAB), thiazole orange-ethidium heterodimer 1 (TOED1),thiazole orange-ethidium heterodimer 2 (TOED2) and fluorescein-ethidiumheterodimer (FED), psoralens, biotin, streptavidin, avidin, etc.

Where a first oligonucleotide is complementary to a region of a targetnucleic acid and a second oligonucleotide has complementary to the sameregion (or a portion of this region) a “region of overlap” exists alongthe target nucleic acid. The degree of overlap will vary depending uponthe nature of the complementarity.

As used herein, the term “purified” or “to purify” refers to the removalof contaminants from a sample.

As used herein the term “portion” when in reference to a protein (as in“a portion of a given protein”) refers to fragments of that protein. Thefragments may range in size from four amino acid residues to the entireamino acid sequence minus one amino acid (e.g., 4, 5, 6, . . . , n−1).

The term “nucleic acid” or “nucleic acid sequence” as used herein refersto an oligonucleotide, nucleotide or polynucleotide, and fragments orportions thereof, and to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin whichmay be single or double stranded, and represent the sense or antisensestrand. Similarly, “amino acid sequence” as used herein refers topeptide or protein sequence.

The term “peptide nucleic acid” (“PNA”) as used herein refers to amolecule comprising bases or base analogs such as would be found innatural nucleic acid, but attached to a peptide backbone rather than thesugar-phosphate backbone typical of nucleic acids. The attachment of thebases to the peptide is such as to allow the bases to base pair withcomplementary bases of nucleic acid in a manner similar to that of anoligonucleotide. These small molecules, also designated anti geneagents, stop transcript elongation by binding to their complementarystrand of nucleic acid (Nielsen, et al. Anticancer Drug Des. 8:53 63[1993]).

The term “locked nucleic acid (“LNA”) as used herein, refers to aconformationally restricted nucleic acid analogue, in which the ribosering is locked into a rigid C3′-endo (or Northern-type) conformation bya simple 2′-O, 4′-C methylene bridge. Duplexes involving LNA (hybridizedto either DNA or RNA) display a large increase in melting temperaturesof between +3.0 to +9.3° C. per LNA modification, in comparison tocorresponding unmodified reference duplexes. LNA recognizes both DNA andRNA with remarkable affinities and selectivities. Incorporation of agiven number of LNA monomers into oligonucleotides is a very convenientway of vastly improving the stability and specificity of duplexes towardcomplementary RNA or DNA such as, for example, primer binding regions.

As used herein, the terms “purified” or “substantially purified” referto molecules, either nucleic or amino acid sequences, that are removedfrom their natural environment, isolated or separated, and are at least60% free, preferably 75% free, and most preferably 90% free from othercomponents with which they are naturally associated. An “isolatedpolynucleotide” or “isolated oligonucleotide” is therefore asubstantially purified polynucleotide.

The term “duplex” refers to the state of nucleic acids in which the baseportions of the nucleotides on one strand are bound through hydrogenbonding the their complementary bases arrayed on a second strand. Thecondition of being in a duplex form reflects on the state of the basesof a nucleic acid. By virtue of base pairing, the strands of nucleicacid also generally assume the tertiary structure of a double helix,having a major and a minor groove. The assumption of the helical form isimplicit in the act of becoming duplexed.

The term “template” refers to a strand of nucleic acid on which acomplementary copy is built from nucleoside triphosphates through theactivity of a template-dependent nucleic acid polymerase. Within aduplex the template strand is, by convention, depicted and described asthe “bottom” strand. Similarly, the non-template strand is oftendepicted and described as the “top” strand.

The term “template-dependent RNA polymerase” refers to a nucleic acidpolymerase that creates new RNA strands through the copying of atemplate strand as described above and which does not synthesize RNA inthe absence of a template. This is in contrast to the activity of thetemplate-independent nucleic acid polymerases that synthesize or extendnucleic acids without reference to a template, such as terminaldeoxynucleotidyl transferase, or Poly A polymerase.

The term “in silico” when used in relation to a process indicates thatthe process is simulated on or embedded in a computer.

The term “priming region” refers to a region on a target nucleic acidsequence to which a primer hybridizes for the purpose of extension ofthe complementary strand of the target nucleic acid sequence.

The term “non-templated T residue” as used herein refers to a thymidine(T) residue added to the 5′ end of a primer which does not necessarilyhybridize to the target nucleic acid being amplified.

The term “genotype” as used herein refers to at least a portion of thegenetic makeup of an individual. A portion of a genome can be sufficientfor assignment of a genotype to an individual provided that the portionof the genome contains a representative sequence or base composition todistinguish the genotype from other genotypes.

The term “nucleobase” as used herein is synonymous with other terms inuse in the art including “nucleotide,” “deoxynucleotide,” “nucleotideresidue,” “deoxynucleotide residue,” “nucleotide triphosphate (NTP),” ordeoxynucleotide triphosphate (dNTP).

As defined herein, “base composition” refers to the numbers of each ofthe four standard nucleobases that are present within a given standardsequence or corresponding amplification product of a standard, test orvariant sequence. Methods including steps of measuring base compositionsare disclosed and claimed in commonly owned published U.S. PatentApplication Nos: 20030124556, 20030082539, 20040209260, 20040219517, and20040180328 and U.S. Ser. Nos. 10/728,486, 10/829,826, 10/660,998,10/853,660, 60/604,329, 60/632,862, 60/639,068, 60/648,188, 11/060,135,11/073,362, and 60/658,248, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in entirety.

As used herein, the term “base composition analysis” refers todetermination of the base composition of an amplification productrepresenting a sub-segment of a target nucleic acid sequence from themolecular mass of the amplification product determined by massspectrometry. In embodiments of the present invention, base compositionanalysis may include determination of base compositions of two or moreamplification products representing overlapping sub-segments of anucleic acid sequence which are to be compared with the defined basecompositions of the corresponding overlapping sub-segments of one ormore reference nucleic acids

As used herein, the term “reference nucleic acid” or “reference nucleicacid segment” is a characterized nucleic acid of known sequence and/orknown base composition. A reference nucleic acid segment is comparedwith uncharacterized sequences in various embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, a characterized vector or portion thereof can beused as a reference nucleic acid segment. A characterized portion ofhuman nucleic acid may also be used as a reference nucleic acid providedthe genotype, identity or race of the human from which the referencenucleic acid is obtained is known. A genome or a portion thereof of abacterium, virus or fungus may also be employed as a reference nucleicacid provided that the species or genotype of the bacterium, virus orfungus is known.

As used herein, the term “reference base composition” refers to acharacterized base composition. For example, a sub-segment of areference nucleic acid having the defined sequence AAAAATTTTCCCGG has astandard base composition of A₅ T₄ C₃ G₂.

As used herein, the term “test nucleic acid sequence” refers to anuncharacterized nucleic acid sequence whose base composition is to becharacterized and compared with one or more standard nucleic acidsegments.

As used herein, term “overlap” or “overlapping sub-segments” refers tosub-segments of a standard nucleic acid segment which have overlap asillustrated by the following example which employs a standard nucleicacid segment of length of 300 nucleobases. A first sub-segment may, forexample, extend from position 1 to position 100. A second sub-segmentmay, for example, extend from position 60 to position 160, havingoverlap from position 60 to position 100. A third sub-segment may, forexample, extend from position 120 to position 220, having overlap fromposition 120 to position 160. A fourth sub-segment may, for example,extend from position 180 to position 280, having overlap from position180 to position 220. Producing sub-segments with overlap is usefulbecause it provides redundancy and reduces the likelihood thatsub-segments containing variants relative to a given standardsub-segment will be mischaracterized. If a primer used to amplify agiven sub-segment hybridizes to a position with a mutation relative tothe reference sequence, the amplification product will not contain themutation because the primer extension product is used as a subsequenttemplate in subsequent amplification cycles. Thus, having overlap of twosub-segments wherein overlap of the second sub-segment over the firstsub-segment extends past the reverse primer hybridization site of thefirst sub-segment eliminates the possibility that the reverse primer forthe first sub-segment will mask a given mutation within the firstsub-segment reverse primer hybridization site. The extent of minimaloverlap should be determined by the length of the primer hybridizationsite of a given sub-segment. Generally, overlap of sub-segments byseveral nucleobases is appropriate but shorter overlap lengths may alsobe appropriate provided the primer hybridization sites are shorternucleobases. The avoidance of overlap of primer hybridization sites onoverlapping sub-segments is preferred.

As used herein, the term “co-amplification” or “co-amplified” refers tothe process of obtaining more than one amplification product in the sameamplification reaction mixture using the same pair of primers.

As used herein, the term “vector” refers to a nucleic acid adapted fortransfection into a host cell. Examples of vectors include, but are notlimited to, plasmids, cosmids, bacteriophages and the like.

As used herein, the term “therapeutic protein” refers to any proteinproduct produced by biotechnological methods for use as a therapeuticproduct. Examples of therapeutic proteins include, but are not limitedto protein products such as vaccines, antibodies, structural proteins,hormones, and cell signaling proteins such as receptors, cytokines andthe like.

As used herein, the term “recombinant” refers to having been created bygenetic engineering. For example, a “recombinant insert” refers to anucleic acid segment inserted into another nucleic acid sequence usingtechniques well known to those with ordinary skill in the arts ofgenetic engineering and molecular biology.

A “nucleic acid variant” is herein defined as a nucleic acid havingsubstantial similarity or sequence identity with a “standard” nucleicacid sequence. For example, between about 70% up to but not including100% sequence identity.

As used herein, a “triplex combination of primer pairs” refers to threeprimer pairs which is to be included in an amplification mixture for thepurpose of obtaining three distinct amplification products from a giventarget nucleic acid.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Provided herein are compositions and methods for determining thepresence of a nucleic acid variant or a genotype relative to a known anddefined “reference” nucleic acid sequence. Identification of a distinctgenotype in certain embodiments is satisfied by identification of adistinct base composition of a given sub-segment of a target nucleicacid.

In the methods described herein where the genotype, and in turn theidentity, of a nucleic acid sample is determined, the nucleic acid ismeasured to deliver a base composition profile. That measured basecomposition profile is then compared to a reference base compositionprofile that is further associated with an identity. The reference basecomposition can be a head-to-head comparison or a standard referencedatabase. In both the head-to-head comparison and the standard referencedatabase comparison, the unknown sample is analyzed using the disclosedcompositions and methods to generate a measured base compositionprofile. For the head-to-head comparison, the reference base compositionprofile is generated by similarly analyzing samples from a selectedsuspect population using the disclosed compositions and methods. Themeasured base composition is then compared to the reference basecompositions and if a match occurs between the unknown and a suspect,then the identity is determined. In the standard reference databasecomparison the measured base composition is compared to a pre-existingdatabase of reference base compositions. This database can be populatedusing standard reference nucleic acids, previously measured basecomposition and converted data to generate base compositions. Forexample, but not limitation, a standard reference nucleic acid caninclude commercially available vectors like pUC, the certified valuesfor CODIS 13 loci (SRM 2391b available from the National Institute ofStandards and Technology) and the Anderson mitochondrial DNA sequence.Converted data can include, but is not limited to, previously obtainedsequence data, such as the reference data that is stored in the SWGDAMdatabase that is bioinformatically converted to base composition data.

Also provided herein are compositions and methods for identifying ahuman by comparison of base compositions of amplification productsrepresenting overlapping sub-segments of a target nucleic acid with basecompositions of reference sub-segments of one or more reference nucleicacids.

Amplification products of portions of the target nucleic acid whichcorrespond to the sub-segments are produced and their molecular massesare measured by mass spectrometry. Base compositions of theamplification products are calculated from their molecular masses andthe base compositions are compared with the base compositions of thecorresponding sub-segments of the reference nucleic acid. A given targetregion can have any length depending upon the type of analysis to beconducted and in recognition of the numbers of primer pairs required toobtain amplification products representing overlapping sub-segments ofthe target, If a bacterium with a large genome is to be analyzed, andthe target is the entire genome, a target nucleic acid may have a lengthof several kilobases. Alternatively, a target region may be of a lengthof about 300 to about 1000 nucleobases in length.

In some embodiments, the nucleic acid variant has a sequence identicalto the standard sequence with the exception of having one or more singlenucleotide polymorphisms, insertions or deletions.

In some embodiments, the reference nucleic acid and variant nucleic acidis either single stranded or double stranded DNA or RNA. In someembodiments, the standard and variant nucleic acid originates from thegenome of a bacterium or a virus or is a synthesized nucleic acid suchas a PCR product, for example.

A set of sub-segments within the reference nucleic acid sequence isdefined. In some embodiments, the members of the set of standardsub-segments are from about 45 to about 150 nucleobases in length. Onewill recognize that this includes standard sub-segments of lengths of45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62,63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80,81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98,99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112,113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126,127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140,141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, or 150 nucleobases inlength.

In some embodiments, the molecular masses of the test amplificationproducts are determined by mass spectrometry such as electrosprayFourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry orelectrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The use of electrospraymass spectrometry permits the measurement of large amplificationproducts, as large as 500 nucleobases in length, whereas amplificationproducts analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization massspectrometry are typically much smaller in length (approximately 15nucleobases in length).

If desired, the length of the standard segments can be chosen such thatsome members of the set have calculated molecular masses that aredissimilar from other members of the set. Having standard segments ofdissimilar molecular masses allows for multiplexing or pooling ofamplification products corresponding to the standard segments prior tomolecular mass determination, by mass spectrometry for example. As isillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the resultant amplification products froma reaction using the at least two primer pairs are sufficientlyseparated along the charge axis of the mass spectrometry plot. Thisseparation is preferred, but not necessary, because the individuallymeasured amplicon strands can be easily visualized.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods are used forgenotyping of a suspected variant of a known species of bacterium orvirus. The base compositions of the test amplification products, ifdifferent from the base composition of the standard segments, providethe means for identification of a previously known variant, or forcharacterization of a previously unobserved variant.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods are used foridentification and characterization of genetically engineered bacteriaor viruses. Genetically engineered organisms are produced by insertionor deletion of genes. These modifications are readily detectable by themethods of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods can be used forvalidation of reference nucleic acid sequences such as those encodingtherapeutic proteins including but not limited to vaccines andbiological drugs such as monoclonal antibodies for example. A nucleicacid is “validated” by base composition analysis according to the methodof the present invention, wherein the result indicates that the analyzednucleic acid and/or sub-segments thereof have the same base compositionsas the reference nucleic acid. The process of “validation” confirms thatpolymorphisms have not been introduced into the target sequence relativeto the reference sequence.

In some embodiments, a known quantity of the standard sequence isincluded in the sample (as an internal calibration standard) containingthe suspected variant and the quantity of the variant is determined fromthe abundance data obtained from mass spectrometry for example. Methodsof using internal calibration standards in base composition analyses aredescribed in commonly owned U.S. application Ser. No. 11/059,776 whichis incorporated herein by reference in entirety.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods are used forcharacterization of heterogeneity of a standard nucleic acid testsample. For example, the standard nucleic acid test sample can be avaccine vector having a standard sequence. The present invention can beused to identify a variant of said standard sequence and also determinethe quantity of the variant relative to the standard sequence. Such ananalysis is advantageous, for example, in situations requiring rapidthroughput analysis for quality control. The methods described hereinwill be able to determine if the quantity of a variant sub-populationincreases to the point wherein quality of the product is compromised.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods are used foridentification of a genotype of a given organism. This can beaccomplished by first, selecting a series of primer pairs foramplification of consecutive or overlapping segments of a standardnucleic acid region found across known genotypes of a given organism.The process continues by amplifying a test nucleic acid of an organismof unknown genotype with the series of primer pairs to obtain acorresponding series of amplification products, at least some of whichare then measured by mass spectrometry. Base compositions of theamplification products are then calculated from the molecular masses.These base compositions are compared with measured or calculatedamplification product base compositions representing amplificationproducts of known genotypes of a given organism obtained with the sameseries of primers. One or more matches of known and unknown basecompositions provide the genotype of the organism.

Preferably, at least some or all of the amplification products have arange of lengths between about 45 to about 150 nucleobases. However, anddepending on the mass spectrometer instrument used, the amplificationproducts analyzed by mass spectrometry can be as large as about 500nucleobases. Moreover, very large amplification products can be digestedinto smaller fragments that are compatible with the mass spectrometerused. Methods of base composition analysis are described in commonlyowned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/660,998, 10/853,660, and11/209,439, each of which are incorporated herein by reference inentirety.

In some embodiments, the amplification is effected using the polymerasechain reaction (PCR). In some embodiments, the PCR reaction is performedwith an extension cycle having a length of one second. The one secondextension cycle is shorter than an ordinary extension cycle and isemployed for the purpose of minimization of artifact amplificationproducts arising from target site crossover.

In some embodiments, the organism of unknown genotype is a humanindividual. In some embodiments, obtaining a genotypic result for ahuman individual provides the means to draw a forensic conclusion withregard to the individual, for example, to conclude with a very highprobability that the individual has had contact with another individualor was present at a particular location.

In some embodiments with applications in human forensics, a givenforensic nucleic acid sample may be characterized by base compositionanalysis that includes comparison with members of a database of tens,hundreds or even thousands of reference nucleic acid segments obtainedfrom individuals of known identity or racial profile, or with standardreferences like the Anderson mitochondrial DNA sequence. Such a databasecan be stored on or embedded in a computer-readable medium and accessedover a network such as the internet for example. Preferably the databasecomprises base compositions of individual sub-segments of the referencenucleic acids.

In some embodiments, the nucleic acid being amplified for a genotypinganalysis is mitochondrial DNA. In other embodiments, the nucleic acid ischromosomal DNA.

In some embodiments, the mitochondrial DNA being amplified for agenotyping analysis is from one or both of the highly variable regionsHV1 or HV2.

In some embodiments, the length of the DNA region being analyzed is 300to 700 nucleobases in length. In other embodiments, the length of theDNA region being analyzed in 400 to 600 nucleobases in length or anylength therewithin.

In some embodiments, the amplifying step of the method is carried out inthe presence of a dNTP containing a molecular mass-modifying tag. Insome embodiments, only one of the four canonical dNTPs has the molecularmass-modifying tag. In some embodiments, the dNTP containing themolecular mass-modifying tag is 2′-deoxy-guanosine-5′-triphosphase,which has the greatest mass of the four canonical dNTPs. In otherembodiments, any of the other three canonical dNTPs can contain themolecular mass-modifying tag. In some embodiments, the tag comprises aminor isotope of carbon or nitrogen. In some embodiments, the isotope ofthe molecular mass-modifying tag is ¹³C or ¹⁵N. The advantage toemploying the latter mass-modifying tags is that the dNTP structure isnot altered and thus, efficiency of the amplification process should beretained.

In some embodiments, the 3′ end residue of each primer hybridizes to aconserved nucleic acid residue of the target nucleic acid wherein theconserved nucleic acid residue is conserved among different genotypes.In other embodiments, the final two 3′ end residues of each primerhybridizes to a conserved nucleic acid residue of the target nucleicacid wherein the conserved nucleic acid residue is conserved amongdifferent genotypes. In other embodiments, the final three 3′ endresidues of each primer hybridizes to a conserved nucleic acid residueof the target nucleic acid wherein the conserved nucleic acid residue isconserved among different genotypes.

In some embodiments, multiplexing amplification reactions are carriedout with at least two primer pairs. In other embodiments, multiplexingreactions are carried out with three primer pairs, also known as triplexcombinations.

In some embodiments, the compositions and methods are used forcharacterization of length or base composition heteroplasmy inmitochondrial DNA and also for determination of the quantity of a givenheteroplasmic variant relative to a “standard” mitochondrial DNA region.In some embodiments, characterization of length heteroplasmy is used todiagnose and/or evaluate the progression of a mitochondrial DNA-relatedgenetic disease such as one or more of the following mitochondrialdiseases: Alpers Disease, Barth syndrome, Beta-oxidation Defects,Carnitine-Acyl-Carnitine Deficiency, Carnitine Deficiency, Co-Enzyme QIODeficiency, Complex I Deficiency, Complex II Deficiency, Complex IIIDeficiency, Complex IV Deficiency, Complex V Deficiency, COX Deficiency,CPEO, CPT I Deficiency, CPT II Deficiency, Glutaric Aciduria Type II,KSS, Lactic Acidosis, LCAD, LCHAD, Leigh Disease or Syndrome, LHON,Lethal Infantile Cardiomyopathy, Luft Disease, MAD, MCA, MELAS, MERRF,Mitochondrial Cytopathy, Mitochondrial DNA Depletion, MitochondrialEncephalopathy, Mitochondrial Myopathy, MNGEE, NARP, Pearson Syndrome,Pyruvate Carboxylase Deficiency, Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency,Respiratory Chain, SCAD, SCHAD, or VLCAD.

Determination of sequence identity is described in the followingexample: a nucleic acid 20 nucleobases in length which is otherwiseidentical to another 20 nucleobase nucleic acid but having twonon-identical residues has 18 of 20 identical residues has 18/20=0.9 or90% sequence identity. In another example, a nucleic acid 15 nucleobasesin length having all residues identical to a 15 nucleobase segment of anucleic acid 20 nucleobases in length would have 15/20=0.75 or 75%sequence identity with the 20 nucleobase nucleic acid. In anotherexample, a nucleic acid 17 nucleobases in length having all residuesidentical to a 15 nucleobase segment of a nucleic acid 20 nucleobases inlength would have 15/17=0.882 or 88.2% sequence identity. In someembodiments, a nucleic acid variant has between about 70% and 99%sequence identity with a standard nucleic acid sequence. In otherembodiments, the nucleic acid variant has between about 75% to about 99%sequence identity. In other embodiments, the nucleic acid has betweenabout 80% to about 99% sequence identity. In other embodiments, thenucleic acid has between about 85% to about 99% sequence identity. Inother embodiments, the nucleic acid has between about 90% to about 99%sequence identity. In other embodiments, the nucleic acid has betweenabout 95% to about 99% sequence identity. One will recognize that theseembodiments provide for nucleic acid variants having sequence identitywith a standard nucleic acid sequence ranging from about 70%, 71%, 72%,73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%,87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, or 98%, to about99%, as well as fractions thereof.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Selection of Primers for Analysis of MitochondrialDNA

An alignment of 5615 mitochondrial DNA sequences was constructed andanalyzed for regions of conservation which are useful as primer bindingsites for tiling coverage of the mitochondrial DNA regions HV1 and HV2.A total of 24 primer binding sites were chosen according to thecriterion that the 5′-end of the primer binding sites remain conservedacross the alignment of mitochondrial DNA sequences. In some cases, onlythe 5′-terminal nucleobase itself is conserved. In other cases, as manyas two or three consecutive nucleobases at the 5′ end of the primerbinding sites are conserved.

In cases where primer coverage at a particular region is desired butcomplete conservation is absent, backup primer pairs can be chosen toensure that target sequences will be amplified. For example, the 5′ endof the primer binding site for the forward primer of primer pair number2893 is 99.7% conserved among the 5615 mitochondrial DNA sequences ofthe alignment, a backup primer pair was designed. Primer pair number2894 has a G residue instead of an A residue because A is 0.3% conservedat the 5′ end of the primer binding site.

Table 1 shows the panel of 25 primer pairs designed to tile theinformative HV1 (coordinates 15924 . . . 16428) and HV2 (coordinates31-576) mitochondrial DNA regions for complete and partially redundantcoverage with partially overlapping amplification products according tothe general scheme shown in FIG. 1. The extent of overlap may vary butgenerally overlapping regions relative to two amplification productsshould range from about ten nucleobases to about 50 nucleobases ofoverlap. The sizes of amplification products produced with the primerpairs of Table 1 range in length from 85 to 140 nucleobase pairs. Withthe exception of three amplification products, all are less than 130nucleobase pairs. The coordinates of the primer binding sites are givenin the forward and reverse primer names with reference to the standardAnderson mitochondrial DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 51). For example, theforward primer of primer pair number 2889 (SEQ ID NO: 1) hybridizes tocoordinates 16357-16376 of the standard Anderson mitochondrial DNAsequence (SEQ ID NO: 51). The primer pair name designation “HUMMTDNA”refers to human mitochondrial DNA. Primer pair numbers 2901 and 2925 aredesigned to produce an amplification product corresponding to the samesub-segment defined by Anderson mitochondrial DNA coordinates 15924 . .. 15985 (see Table 2). This extent of redundancy is sometimes beneficialin cases where high variability occurs at chosen primer binding sitessuch that a given primer of a primer pair does not effectively hybridizeto the mitochondrial DNA of certain individuals. For this reason, 25primer pairs are used to obtain amplification products of 24sub-segments. TABLE 1 Primer Pairs Used for Amplifying HV1 and HV2Regions of Mitochondrial DNA Primer Forward Forward Reverse Reverse pairprimer Forward SEQ ID primer Reverse SEQ ID number name sequence NO:name sequence NO: 2889 HUMMTDNA_ TCTCGTCCCC 1 HUMMTDNA_ TCGAGGAGAGT 26ASN_16357_ ATGGATGACC ASN_16429_ AGCACTCTTGT 16376_F 16451_R G 2890HUMMTDNA_ TGCCATTTAC 2 HUMMTDNA_ TGGTCAAGGGA 27 ASN_16318_ CGTACATAGCASN_16382_ CCCCTATCTG 16341_F ACAT 16402_R 2891 HUMMTDNA_ TCACCCCTCA 3HUMMTDNA_ TGGGACGAGAA 28 ASN_16256_ CCCACTAGGA ASN_16345_ GGGATTTGACT16282_F TACCAAC 16366_R 2892 HUMMTDNA_ TCACACATCA 4 HUMMTDNA_TGCTATGTACG 29 ASN_16231_ ACTGCAACTC ASN_16306_ GTAAATGGCTT 16253_F CAA16338_R TATGTACTATG 2893 HUMMTDNA_ TAGTACATAA 5 HUMMTDNA_ TGGTGAGGGGT 30ASN_16154_ AAACCCAATC ASN_16251_ GGCTTTG 16181_F CACATCAA 16268_R 2894HUMMTDNA_ TAGTACATAA 6 HUMMTDNA_ TGGTGAGGGGT 31 ASN_16154_ AAACCCAATCASN_16251_ GGCTTTG 16181_2_F CACATCAG 16268_R 2895 HUMMTDNA_ TTTCCATAAA7 HUMMTDNA_ TGGGTTGATTG 32 ASN_16130_ TACTTGACCA ASN_16202_ CTGTACTTGCT16156_F CCTGTAG 16224_R T 2896 HUMMTDNA_ TACTGCCAGC 8 HUMMTDNA_TGGGTTGATTG 33 ASN_16102_ CACCATGAAT ASN_16202_ CTGTACTTGCT 16123_F AT16224_R T 2897 HUMMTDNA_ TCCAAGTATT 9 HUMMTDNA_ TACAGGTGGTC 34ASN_16055_ GACTCACCCA ASN_16130_ AAGTATTTATG 16077_F TCA 16155_R GTAC2898 HUMMTDNA_ TCTTTCATGG 10 HUMMTDNA_ TCATGGTGGCT 35 ASN_16025_GGAAGCAGAT ASN_16099_ GGCAGTAATG 16047_F TTG 16119_R 2899 HUMMTDNA_TGCACCCAAA 11 HUMMTDNA_ TGGTGAGTCAA 36 ASN_15985_ GCTAAGATTC ASN_16052_TACTTGGGTGG 16014_F TAATTTAAAC 16073_R 2901 HUMMTDNA_ TGGGGTATAA 12HUMMTDNA_ TTAAATTAGAA 37 ASN_15893_ ACTAATACAC ASN_15986_ TCTTAGCTTTG15923_F CAGTCTTGTA 16012_R GGTGC A 2902 HUMMTDNA_ TCAGGTCTAT 13HUMMTDNA_ TGTCTCGCAAT 38 ASN_5_30_ CACCCTATTA ASN_77_97_R GCTATCGCGT FACCACT 2903 HUMMTDNA_ TATTAACCAC 14 HUMMTDNA_ TTTCAAAGACA 39 ASN_20_TCACGGGAGC ASN_115_ GATACTGCGAC 40_F T 139_R ATA 2904 HUMMTDNA_TAGCATTGCG 15 HUMMTDNA_ TGCCTGTAATA 40 ASN_83_ AGACGCTGGA ASN_163_TTGAACGTAGG 102_F 187_R TGC 2905 HUMMTDNA_ TCTATGTCGC 16 HUMMTDNA_TGGGTTATTAT 41 ASN_113_ AGTATCTGTC ASN_218_ TATGTCCTACA 137_F TTTGA245_R AGCATT 2906 HUMMTDNA_ TCCTTTATCG 17 HUMMTDNA_ TGGTTGTTATG 42ASN_154_ CACCTACGTT ASN_268_ ATGTCTGTGTG 177_F CAAT 290_R G 2907HUMMTDNA_ TAACAATTGA 18 HUMMTDNA_ TGTTTTTGGGG 43 ASN_239_ ATGTCTGCACASN_341_ TTTGGCAGAGA 262_F AGCC 363_R T 2908 HUMMTDNA_ TGTGTTAATT 19HUMMTDNA_ TCTGTGGCCAG 44 ASM_204_ AATTAATGCT ASN_314_ AAGCGG 233_FTGTAGGACAT 330_R 2910 HUMMTDNA_ TCTTAAACAC 20 HUMMTDNA_ TAAAAGTGCAT 45ASN_331_ ATCTCTGCCA ASN_402_ ACCGCCAAAAG 354_F AACC 425_R AT 2912HUMMTDNA_ TGCGGTATGC 21 HUMMTDNA_ TGTGTGTGCTG 46 ASN_409_ ACTTTTAACAASN_502_ GGTAGGATG 430_F GT 521_R 2913 HUMMTDNA_ TCTCCCATAC 22 HUMMTDNA_TGCTTTGAGGA 47 ASN_464_ TACTAATCTC ASN_577_ GGTAAGCTACA 492_F ATCAATACA603_R TAAAC 2916 HUMMTDNA_ TACCCTAACA 23 HUMMTDNA_ TGGAGGGGAAA 48ASN_367_ CCAGCCTAAC ASN_438_ ATAATGTGTTA 388_F CA 463_R GTTG 2923HUMMTDNA_ TGCTTTCCAC 24 HUMMTDNA_ TCTGGTTAGGC 49 ASN_262_ ACAGACATCAASN_368_ TGGTGTTAGGG 288_F TAACAAA 390_R T 2925 HUMMTDNA_ TCCTTTTTCC 25HUMMTDNA_ TGCTTCCCCAT 50 ASN_15937_ AAGGACAAAT ASN_16018_ GAAAGAACAGA15962_F CAGAGA 16041_R GA

TABLE 2 Amplification Coordinates of Mitochondrial DNA for the PrimerPairs of Table 1 Primer pair Amplification number Coordinates mtDNARegion 2889 16377 . . . 16428 HV1 2890 16342 . . . 16381 HV1 2891 16283. . . 16344 HV1 2892 16254 . . . 16305 HV1 2893 16182 . . . 16250 HV12894 16182 . . . 16250 HV1 2895 16157 . . . 16201 HV1 2896 16124 . . .16201 HV1 2897 16078 . . . 16129 HV1 2898 16048 . . . 16098 HV1 289916015 . . . 16051 HV1 2901 15924 . . . 15985 HV1 2902 31 . . . 76 HV22903  41 . . . 114 HV2 2904 103 . . . 162 HV2 2905 138 . . . 217 HV22906 178 . . . 267 HV2 2907 263 . . . 340 HV2 2908 234 . . . 314 HV22910 355 . . . 402 HV2 2912 431 . . . 501 HV2 2913 493 . . . 576 HV22916 389 . . . 437 HV2 2923 289 . . . 371 HV2 2925 15924 . . . 15985 HV1

Example 2 Validation of Triplex Tiling Mitochondrial DNA Assay

The 25 primer pairs of Table 1 were divided into triplex combinations ofthree primer pairs such that the amplification products of three primerpairs within a triplex combination have sense and antisense strandswhich are significantly different in molecular mass from the other senseand antisense strands of other amplification products within the triplexcombinations. The triplex combinations are shown in Table 3 withreference to primer pair combinations. TABLE 3 Triplex Combinations ofPrimer Pairs for Simultaneous Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA RegionsTriplex Combination Primer Pair Primer Pair Primer Pair No. NumberNumber Number 1 2892 2901 2906 2 2891 2908 2925 3 2890 2899 2907 4 28982889 2923 5 2902 2910 2893/2894 6 2916 2897 2893 7 2904 2896 2913 8 28952912 2905

PCR cycle conditions used for obtaining amplification products for thisassay are as follows: 10 minutes at 96° C. followed by six cycles ofsteps (a) to (c) wherein: (a) is 20 seconds at 96° C., (b) is 1.5minutes at 55° C., and (c) is 1 second at 72° C., followed by 36 cyclesof steps (d) to (f) wherein (d) is 20 seconds at 96° C., (b) is 1.5minutes at 50° C., and (c) is 1 second at 72° C., followed by aretention at 4° C. All PCR reactions were carried out with an Eppendorfthermal cycler with 40 μl reaction volumes in a 96-well microtiter plateformat. Liquid manipulations were performed using a Packard MPII liquidhandling robotic platform. The PCR reaction mixture consisted of 4 unitsof Amplitaq Gold, 1× buffer II (Applied Biosystems, Foster City,Calif.), 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 800 μM dNTP mixture and 250 nM of each primer.The dNTP mixture contained carbon-13 enriched deoxyguanosinetriphosphate, a chemically invisible molecular mass-modifying tag whichadds 10 Da to each G residue incorporated into a given amplificationproduct so that the numbers of possible base compositions consistentwith a measured molecular mass is reduced and the probability ofassignment of an incorrect base composition to a given amplificationproduct is greatly decreased.

Eleven saliva samples were obtained from in-house laboratory personneland subjected to PCR reactions as described above with the 8 triplexprimer pair sets shown in Table 3. The PCR amplification products werepurified according to the primary amine-terminated magnetic beadseparation method; a technique that is well known in the art and that isdescribed in US patent publication 20050130196 which is incorporatedherein by reference in entirety. All amplification products wereanalyzed using a Bruker Daltonics MicroTOF™ mass spectrometer. Ions fromthe ESI source undergo orthogonal ion extraction and are focused in areflectron prior to detection. The TOF and FTICR are equipped with thesame automated sample handling and fluidics described above. Ions areformed in the standard MicroTOF™ ESI source that is equipped with thesame off-axis sprayer and glass capillary as the FTICR ESI source.Consequently, source conditions were the same as those described above.External ion accumulation was also employed to improve ionization dutycycle during data acquisition. Each detection event on the TOF wascomprised of 75,000 data points digitized over 75 μs.

Mass spectra of the amplification products were analyzed independentlyusing a maximum-likelihood processor, such as is widely used in radarsignal processing. This processor, referred to as GenX, first makesmaximum likelihood estimates of the input to the mass spectrometer foreach primer by running matched filters for each base compositionaggregate on the input data. This processor is described in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 20040209260 which is incorporated herein byreference in entirety.

All duplicate reactions were analyzed independently and duplicateresults were identical in all cases. An example of a mass spectrum oftriplex primer combination 1 (primer pair nos. 2892, 2901 and 2906) isshown in FIG. 2 wherein each of the peaks labeled A-F represent a singlestrand of DNA of an amplification product. The strands are clearlyseparated which facilitates efficient analysis of the molecular masses.

The applicability of the present invention for resolution ofmitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy is indicated in FIG. 3. Strands C′, D′,C″ and D″ represent two amplification products having lengthheteroplasmy of the amplification product of strands C and D. Each ofthe strands of the heteroplasmic variants is visible in the massspectrum because they vary in molecular mass.

Example 3 Rapid Typing of Human Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of forensic samples is performed whenthe quantity and/or quality of DNA are insufficient for nuclear DNAanalysis, or when DNA analysis through a maternal lineage is otherwisedesired. Forensic mtDNA analysis is performed by sequencing portions ofthe mtDNA genome, which is a lengthy and labor intensive technique. Wepresent a mass spectrometry-based multiplexed PCR assay suitable forautomated analysis of mtDNA control region segments. The assay has beeninternally validated with 20 DNA samples with known sequence profilesand 50 blinded samples contributed by external collaborators. Correctprofiles were obtained in all cases when compared to sequencing data.Two samples containing mixed templates were observed and the relativecontribution of each template was quantified directly from the massspectra of PCR products.

The primer pairs of Table 1 were designed to amplify 1051 bases of humanmitochondrial DNA in the hypervariable regions HV1 and HV2. The primerpairs were combined in multiplex reactions in groups which were chosensuch that the target segments of the three primer pairs being combinedwere maximally separated and such that each of the three amplificationproduct masses in a triplex mixture were resolvable from each other bymass spectrometry. The triplex groups are shown in Table 3. The lengthsof the amplification products were 85 to 140 base pairs. All except forthree amplification products were less than 130 base pairs in length.The relative primer pair concentrations in the triplex mixtures wereadjusted in order to favor simultaneous amplification of all threetarget segments.

Mass spectra were measured by electrospray time-of-flight (TOF) massspectrometry.

A standard reference human mitochondrial DNA database was used to obtainthe base composition profiles corresponding to the series ofamplification products produced by the overlapping primer pairs. Asdescribed above, the database was populated with base composition datafrom the Anderson reference mitochondrial DNA, from base compositionmeasurements earlier obtained, and by conversions from databases ofearlier obtained sequencing data. These base composition profilesrepresent the “truth data.”

Fifty blinded test samples, including 25 blood samples and 25 cheek swabsamples were tested and compared to the pre-existing truth data.Mitochondrial DNA was purified from the samples by the Qiagen bloodpunch protocol or by the Qiagen buccal swab protocol and quantifiedusing the Quantifiler qPCR kit prior to analysis. Two or moreindependent assays were performed with the overlapping primers of Table1 using between 100 and 500 pg of mitochondrial DNA in each reaction.

The purified mitochondrial DNA was subjected to triplex PCRamplification with the eight triplex primer groups of Table 3 accordingto the procedure indicated in Example 2. Amplified mixtures werepurified by solution capture of nucleic acids with ion exchange resinlinked to magnetic beads as follows: 25 μl of a 2.5 mg/mL suspension ofBioClone amine terminated superparamagnetic beads were added to 25 to 50μl of a PCR (or RT-PCR) reaction containing approximately 10 pM of atypical PCR amplification product. The above suspension was mixed forapproximately 5 minutes by vortexing or pipetting, after which theliquid was removed after using a magnetic separator. The beadscontaining bound PCR amplification product were then washed three timeswith 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate/50% MeOH or 100 mM ammoniumbicarbonate/50% MeOH, followed by three more washes with 50% MeOH. Thebound PCR amplicon was eluted with a solution of 25 mM piperidine, 25 mMimidazole, 35% MeOH which included peptide calibration standards.

Each mass spectrum obtained by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry wasindependently calibrated by internal peptide calibrants andnoise-reduced prior to calculation of base composition. Basecompositions were obtained from molecular masses and compared to adatabase developed from over 110,000 mitochondrial DNA sequences. Thebase composition of each amplification product was associated withmitochondrial DNA coordinates as shown, for example in Table 4 whichprovides the base compositions for sample AF-12 from the set of 50blinded samples. TABLE 4 Mitochondrial DNA Base Composition Profile forSample AF-12 Anderson/Cambridge Sequence Coordinates (SEQ ID NO: 51)Base Composition 15893 . . . 16012 A47 G18 C25 T30 15937 . . . 16041 A35G14 C24 T32 15985 . . . 16073 A26 G15 C21 T27 16025 . . . 16119 A26 G17C26 T26 16055 . . . 16155 A31 G13 C30 T27 16102 . . . 16224 A45 G13 C42T23 16130 . . . 16224 A36 G7 C33 T19 16154 . . . 16268 A44 G7 C46 T1816231 . . . 16338 A40 G9 C40 T19 16256 . . . 16366 A37 G9 C41 T24 16318. . . 16402 A20 G14 C30 T21 16357 . . . 16451 A21 G17 C36 T21  5 . . .97 A19 G24 C24 T26  20 . . . 139 A24 G34 C29 T33  83 . . . 187 A23 G21C29 T32 113 . . . 245 A39 G18 C28 T48 154 . . . 290 A49 G17 C31 T40 204. . . 330 A42 G16 C35 T32 204 . . . 330 A42 G16 C36 T32 204 . . . 330A42 G16 C37 T32 239 . . . 363 A43 G11 C46 T23 239 . . . 363 A43 G11 C47T23 239 . . . 363 A43 G11 C48 T23 239 . . . 363 A43 G11 C49 T23 262 . .. 390 A47 G10 C50 T20 262 . . . 390 A47 G10 C51 T20 262 . . . 390 A47G10 C52 T20 262 . . . 390 A47 G10 C53 T20 331 . . . 425 A33 G9 C27 T26367 . . . 463 A27 G8 C32 T30 409 . . . 521 A32 G7 C48 T26 464 . . . 603A44 G10 C63 T23

Heteroplasmy was detected in several of the samples. For example, sampleAF-4 has C⇄T heteroplasmy at position 16176. Two distinct amplificationproducts having base compositions of A45 G13 C41 T24 and A45 G13 C40 T25were obtained for this sample using primer pair number 2896 whichamplifies positions 16102 . . . 16224. If conventional sequencinganalyses were used to analyze the amplification reaction mixture,heteroplasmy would not have been detected. Table 5 indicates additionalexamples of heteroplasmy detected in various samples. TABLE 5 Summary ofHeteroplasmy Detection in Selected Samples Blinded Approximate % ofSample Region Heteroplasmy Minor Product AF-2 16231 . . . 16338 C → T32.4 16256 . . . 16366 AF-4 16102 . . . 16224 C → T 49.2 16130 . . .16224 AF-7 16318 . . . 16402 T → C 10.2 AF-9 464 . . . 603 AC insertion17.3 AF-19 15985 . . . 16073 A → G 44.9 16025 . . . 16119 AF-22  6102 .. . 16224 C → A 36.2 16130 . . . 16224 AF-24 464 . . . 603 AC deletion13.5 FBI-22 16055 . . . 16155 A → C 7.0 FBI-37 16231 . . . 16338 C → T20.0 16256 . . . 16366 FBI-48 16055 . . . 16155 T → G 6.0 FBI-49 154 . .. 290 A → C 10.6 FBI-51  5 . . . 97 C → T 43.0  20 . . . 139 FBI-5716357 . . . 16451 T → C 6.0 FBI-61 464 . . . 603 AC insertion 17.0FBI-66 113 . . . 245 C → T 50.0 154 . . . 290 FBI-72 113 . . . 245 C → T34.0 154 . . . 290

The results of the investigation of the 50 blinded samples indicatedthat 47 of 47 pure samples were directly concordant with the sequencedata available. One negative (no mitochondrial DNA present) wasconfirmed as negative and two buccal swab samples were confirmed asmixtures of existing buccal swab samples. Deduction of contributors tomixtures was confirmed as accurate. Multiple examples of lengthheteroplasmy and single nucleotide polymorphism heteroplasmy wereobserved. These results indicate that the method is useful for rapidtyping of human mitochondrial DNA.

Example 4 Demonstration of the Feasibility of Rapid Detection of aGenetic Engineering Event

To detect a genetic engineering event indicated by the presence offoreign DNA sequences inserted into a parent virus, a strategy ofoverlapping PCR primers to tile large sections of viral genomes isemployed. Primer binding sites were chosen such that the PCR ampliconlength (standard segments) will be approximately 150 nucleobases inlength with overlapping segments defined by primer hybridization regionsevery 50-100 nucleobases across the entire target region (in a mannerexemplified by FIG. 1).

Target regions are chosen according to expectation of identification ofa genetic engineering event at a particular region. For example, if itis known that “region X” of a genome of a given virus is known to be acommon insertion point for a gene encoding a toxin used as a biowarfareagent, it would be advantageous to simplify the base compositionanalysis by choosing only the genomic coordinates of region X as thetarget (a portion of the genome chosen as the target). The target regionis then divided into sub-segments and primer pairs are chosen to obtainamplification products which represent the sub-segments for basecomposition analysis. On the other hand, if it is known that any pointin an entire genome is appropriate for insertion of a gene, it would beadvantageous to define the entire genome as the target in order toensure that the insertion is detected. One with ordinary skill willrecognize that defining an entire genome as a target will require designof many more primer pairs and significantly more analysis resources.

A database of molecular masses and base compositions for each standardsegment for the standard target virus species will be used to assemble abase composition map of each sampled region from the mass spectrumderived from each amplification reaction. The identification of at leastone amplification product whose base composition differs from the basecomposition of its corresponding standard segment in one or moreoverlapping tiled regions will indicate that a variant exists and thesample will be flagged for further analysis. SNP variants are readilyrecognized and can be directly analyzed by the methods described herein.As an example of the proposed method, 10 Kb nucleobase regions oforthopoxvirus species genetically engineered with a green-fluorescentprotein (GFP) construct are inserted into analogous regions in fivedifferent orthopoxviruses which will serve as benign surrogates torepresent a potentially deadly engineered virus.

In the following proof-of-concept example using the recombinantGFP-containing camelpoxvirus (CMPV-GFP), simulated processed massspectrometry data was used to reconstruct a standard segment basecomposition map, associate it unambiguously to CMPV, and identifypresence of a foreign insert in the virus by flagging anunexpected/unmatched hole in two of the amplified regions. Overlappingprimer pairs were selected to span the CMPV-GFP sequence. A theoreticalprediction of the expected standard amplification products using theseprimers was used to populate a database that serves as an expected massset for all poxvirus species. Processed mass spectrometry data of theamplified regions of CMPV-GFP were simulated and matched against thedatabase of 16 poxvirus sequences (which did not include theGFP-engineered sequence) to construct a base composition profile of eachregion. The base composition profile is generated using the full set ofpotential fragments from all database sequences, which helps increaseprofile coverage in the case of strain-to-strain SNP variations. If anySNP-generated fragments appear that do not occur in any databasesequence, the base composition of the double-stranded fragment can bededuced directly from the masses. The final base composition profile foreach region can then be compared to the compositions for all databasesequences to confirm/refine the identity of the parent virus. Thepresence of an unmatched “hole” in the assembled profile that cannot bematched to the expected viral sequence indicates the potential presenceof an engineered insert. This region may then be sequenced and comparedto the full sequence database via BLAST. The ability to rapidly identifythe presence of the insert, the location of the insertion, and theflanking regions of the viral genome where the unexpected geneticmodification was done will serve as a powerful tool to flag potentialbioengineering events. It further reduces the burden of sequencing tospecific, targeted regions of the viral genome instead of the entirevirus from every sample.

Example 5 Vector Validation and Characterization of Vector Heterogeneity

This example illustrates a scenario where the method of the presentinvention could be used to validate and/or characterize heterogeneity ofstandard nucleic acid sequences encoding biological products. Theprocess of production of biological therapeutic proteins such asvaccines and monoclonal antibodies requires storage and manipulation ofthe nucleic acid sequences encoding the therapeutic proteins. Mutationsmay occasionally arise within a given nucleic acid sequence encoding theprotein and compromise its therapeutic effect. It is desirable to have amethod for rapid validation of such nucleic acid sequences andcharacterization of heterogeneity of the sequences, if present.

Vector X contains a nucleic acid sequence encoding vaccine Y which isused to vaccinate individuals against infection of virus Z. Vector X isused to transfect a suitable host for production of vaccine Y. Vaccine Yis suspected of being compromised by a mutation that has arisen in thenucleic acid sequence encoding vaccine Y and is being propagated viaroutine laboratory manipulations of vector X.

The method of the present invention is used to analyze the nucleic acidof vector X by base composition analysis of sub-segments of the vectorwhich encode vaccine Y. The nucleic acid sequence encoding vaccine Y is300 nucleobases in length. This sequence is divided into foursub-segments as follows: sub-segment 1 represents coordinates 1 . . .100 of the nucleic acid sequence encoding vaccine Y; sub-segment 2represents coordinates 61 . . . 160 of the nucleic acid sequenceencoding vaccine Y; sub-segment 3 represents coordinates 141 . . . 240of the nucleic acid sequence encoding vaccine Y; and sub-segment 4represents coordinates 221 . . . 300 of the nucleic acid sequenceencoding vaccine Y. The base compositions of each of the foursub-segments are known because the sequence of vaccine Y is known.Sub-segment 1 of the nucleic acid of vaccine Y has a base composition ofA₂₅T₂₀C₃₀ G₂₅; sub-segment 2 of the nucleic acid of vaccine Y has a basecomposition of Al₅T₂₀ C₃₅ G₃₀; sub-segment 3 of the nucleic acid ofvaccine Y has a base composition of A₂₀T₂₅ C₃₀ G₂₅; and sub-segment 4 ofthe nucleic acid of vaccine Y has a base composition of A₂₅ T₁₅ C₁₅ G₂₀.Primer pair 1 is used to obtain an amplification product of vector Xwherein the amplification product corresponds to sub-segment 1. Primerpair 2 is used to obtain an amplification product of vector X whereinthe amplification product corresponds to sub-segment 2. Primer pair 3 isused to obtain an amplification product of vector X wherein theamplification product corresponds to sub-segment 3. Primer pair 4 isused to obtain an amplification product of vector X wherein theamplification product corresponds to sub-segment 4. The amplificationproducts corresponding to sub-segments 1-4 are analyzed by massspectrometry to determine their molecular masses. The base compositionsof one or more of the amplification products are calculated from themolecular masses and compared with the base compositions of thesub-segments of vaccine Y listed above.

In one example, production lot A-1 of vector X is analyzed according tothe method described above. The results of the base compositioncalculations indicate that each of the experimentally determined basecompositions of the amplification products match the base compositionsof the four sub-segments. The conclusion of this exercise is that vectorX and the nucleic acid encoding vaccine Y contained thereon, do notcontain mutations and that the vaccine vector is validated, indicatingthat future vaccine production will not be affected.

In another example, production lot B-2 of vector X is analyzed accordingto the method described above. The results of the base compositioncalculations indicate that each of the experimentally determined basecompositions of the amplification products match the base compositionsof the four sub-segments. An additional amplification product isobserved in the mass spectrum of the amplification reaction of primerpair 3. The additional amplification product which corresponds tosub-segment 3 has a base composition of A₂₀ T₂₅ C₃₁ G₂₄. This indicatesthat the additional amplification product has a G→C substitutionrelative to the standard base composition of sub-segment 3. Theconclusion of this exercise is that vector X and the nucleic acidencoding vaccine Y are heterogeneous and that production of vaccine Yfrom production lot B-2 of vector X may be compromised. The massspectrum indicating signals from two amplification productscorresponding to sub-segment 3 may also be used to estimate the relativeamounts of the two amplification products, thereby furthercharacterizing the extent of heterogeneity of the nucleic acid sequenceencoding vaccine Y. If the relative quantity of nucleic acid containingthe mutation is low, it may be decided that heterogeneity is negligible.On the other hand, if the relative quantity of nucleic acid containingthe mutation is high, it may be decided that vector X lot B-2 isseverely compromised and should be destroyed instead of being used toproduce vaccine Y.

Various modifications of the invention, in addition to those describedherein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescription. Such modifications are also intended to fall within thescope of the appended claims. Each reference (including, but not limitedto, journal articles, U.S. and non-U.S. patents, patent applicationpublications, international patent application publications, gene bankaccession numbers, internet web sites, and the like) cited in thepresent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes andmodifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention and thatsuch changes and modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the appendedclaims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method for analyzing a nucleic acid comprising the steps of: (a)obtaining a sample comprising nucleic acid for base compositionanalysis; (b) selecting at least two primer pairs that will generateoverlapping amplification products of at least two sub-segments of thenucleic acid; (c) amplifying at least two nucleic acid sequences of aregion of the nucleic acid designated as a target for base compositionanalysis using the at least two primer pairs, thereby generating atleast two overlapping amplification products; (d) determining basecompositions of the amplification products by; (i) measuring molecularmasses of one or more of the amplification products generated in step(c) using a mass spectrometer; and (ii) converting one or more of themeasured molecular masses to base compositions; (e) comparing one ormore of the base compositions with a source of reference basecomposition data for the nucleic acid sequence; and (f) identifying thepresence of a particular nucleic acid sequence or variant thereof. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting at least two primerpairs is selecting at least one triplex combination of primer pairs. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein the amplification product is from about 40nucleobases in length to about 150 nucleobases in length.
 4. The methodof claim 3 wherein the amplification product is from about 46nucleobases in length to about 140 nucleobases in length.
 5. The methodof claim 1 wherein the amplification product is less than 130nucleobases.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the amplification productis from about 85 nucleobases in length to about 140 nucleobases inlength.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sample comprising nucleicacid for base composition analysis is selected from the group consistingof a human chromosomal nucleic acid, a human mitochondrial nucleic acid,a bacterial nucleic acid, a viral nucleic acid, a fungal nucleic acid, asynthetic nucleic acid, a recombinant nucleic acid and a combinationthereof.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the confirming step identifiesat least one variant whose base composition differs from the basecomposition of its corresponding reference sub-segment, therebycharacterizing a genotype of a human, bacterium, virus or fungus.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the identifying step identifies at least oneamplification product whose base composition differs from the basecomposition of its corresponding reference sub-segment, therebyidentifying a genetically-engineered bacterium virus or fungus.
 10. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the sample for base composition analysis is atleast a portion of the HV1 segment of a mitochondrial DNA.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 wherein the HV1 segment is nucleotide positions 15924to 16451 of SEQ ID NO:
 51. 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the samplefor base composition analysis comprises a heteroplasmy variant.
 13. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the sample for base composition analysis is atleast a portion of the HV2 segment of a mitochondrial DNA.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the HV2 segment is nucleotide positions 31 to576 of SEQ ID NO: 51
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the sample forbase composition comprises a heteroplasmy variant.
 16. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the amplifying step is carried out in the presence of adNTP comprising a mass modifying tag.
 17. The method of claim 16 whereinthe dNTP is 2′-deoxy-guanosine-5′-triphosphate.
 18. The method of claim16 wherein the dNTP is 13.sup.C.
 19. The method of claim 7 wherein thesample for base composition analysis is mitochondrial DNA and the atleast two primers comprise combinations of SEQ ID NOs: 1:26, 2:27, 3:28,4:29, 5:30, 6:31, 7:32, 8:33, 9:34, 10:35, 11:36, 12:37, 13:38, 14:39,15:40, 16:41, 17:42, 18:43, 19:44, 20:45, 21:46, 22:47, 23:48, 24:49,and 25:50.
 20. The method of claim 7 wherein the sample for basecomposition analysis is human mitochondrial DNA and the obtained basecompositions are compared with corresponding reference sub-segments of areference sequence comprising the Anderson/Cambridge sequence (SEQ IDNO: 51).
 21. The method of claim 7 wherein the comparing of the measuredbase composition to the reference sub-segments provides genotypeinformation comprising human identification, SNP identification, VNTRidentification, recombinant insert identification, heteroplasmyidentification, genetic disease disposition and combinations thereof.22. The method of claim 1 wherein the amplification step is quantitativeand further comprises the step of adding to the sample a known quantityof a calibrant that will co-amplify with the sample for sequenceidentity analysis.
 23. The method of claim 1 wherein the massspectrometry is electrospray Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonancemass spectrometry or electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry. 24.The method of claim 1 wherein the target region for base compositionanalysis has a length falling in the range comprising an upper limit ofabout 700 nucleobases and comprising a lower limit of about 300nucleobases.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein the range comprises anupper limit of about 400 nucleobases and comprises a lower limit ofabout 600 nucleobases.
 26. The method of claim 2 wherein the sample forbase composition analysis is mitochondrial DNA and the triplexcombination of primer pairs is selected from the group consisting ofprimer pairs 4:29, 12:37 and 17:42; primer pairs 3:28, 19:44 and 25:50;primer pairs 2:27, 11:36 and 18:43; primer pairs 10:35, 1:26 and 24:49;primer pairs 13:38, 20:45 and 5:30; primer pairs 13:38,20:45 and 6:31;primer pairs 23:48, 9:34 and 5:30; primer pairs 15:40, 8:33 and 22:47;and primer pairs 7:32, 21:46 and 16:41.
 27. The method of claim 1wherein the nucleic acid is a vector.
 28. The method of claim 27 whereinthe vector comprises a gene encoding a therapeutic protein.
 29. A methodfor identifying a human comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a samplecomprising mitochondrial DNA of the human for base composition analysis;(b) selecting at least two primer pairs that will generate overlappingamplification products representing sub-segments of the mitochondrialDNA; (c) amplifying at least two nucleic acid sequences of a region ofthe mitochondrial DNA designated as a target for base compositionanalysis using the at least two primer pairs, thereby generating atleast two overlapping amplification products; (d) determining basecompositions of the amplification products by; (i) measuring molecularmasses of one or more of the amplification products generated in step(c) using a mass spectrometer; and (ii) converting one or more of themeasured molecular masses to base compositions; (e) comparing one ormore of the base compositions with a source of reference basecomposition data for the nucleic acid sequence thereby identifying thehuman.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein the sample for basecomposition analysis is at least a portion of the HV1 segment of amitochondrial DNA.
 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the HV1 segment isnucleotide positions 15924 to 16451 of SEQ ID NO:51.
 32. The method ofclaim 29 wherein the sample for base composition analysis is at least aportion of the HV2 segment of a mitochondrial DNA.
 33. The method ofclaim 32 wherein the HV2 segment is nucleotide positions 31 to 576 ofSEQ ID NO: 51
 34. The method of claim 29 wherein the source of referencebase composition is a head-to-head comparison.
 35. The method of claim29 wherein the source of reference base composition is a standardreference database.
 36. A method for characterizing heteroplasmy inmitochondrial DNA comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a samplecomprising mitochondrial DNA for base composition analysis; (b)selecting at least two primer pairs that will generate overlappingamplification products representing sub-segments of the mitochondrialDNA; (c) amplifying at least two nucleic acid sequences of a region ofthe mitochondrial DNA designated as a target for base compositionanalysis using the at least two primer pairs, thereby generating atleast two overlapping amplification products; (d) determining basecompositions of the amplification products by; (i) measuring molecularmasses of one or more of the amplification products generated in step(c) using a mass spectrometer; and (ii) converting one or more of themeasured molecular masses to base compositions; (e) comparing one ormore of the base compositions with one or more base compositions ofreference sub-segments of a reference sequence; and (f) identifying atleast two distinct amplification products with distinct basecompositions obtained by the same pair of primers, therebycharacterizing the heteroplasmy.